Iowa Core Assignment

I am going to do 3rd grade mathematics and 10th grade literacy. I have been observing Mr.
Fjelland, 3rd grade teacher and I asked him what his thoughts were on the Iowa core. Mr.
Fjelland told me, “I really like the Iowa Core because of the clear standards that it provides all
teachers. I believe the expectations are helpful to not only teachers, but parents as well.
Ultimately it benefits the students across the state because the Iowa Core describes what all
students grades k-12 should learn each year.” I also asked a senior literacy teacher, Mr. Dovre
what his opinions are on the Iowa Core. He stated that, “I think it is reasonable to hope that
students would be able to have the skills that the standard call for-- I don’t really have a problem
with the standards-- but I have a love/hate relationship with their implementation, particularly
around literature instruction. Because we (I say “we” to mean English teachers/achool systems
across the U.S.) assess the standard, they become the focus of our classroom. Many times I
have heard everything that happens in the classroom needs to be tied to one of the standards,
which is pretty ridiculous to me. Even though the standards are extensive (Experts say that it is
impossible to cover them all,) they still represent a small window into the study of English. To get
technical, the reflect a bias towards New Criticism and Structuralism, which is a narrow critical
lens that has obvious value, but which does not encompass the depth and breadth
3rd grade Mathematics of the variety of ways people read literature. (So, for instance, doing a
TP-CASST analysis of a poem, while reflecting on what a poem has to say to you personally
does not have much of a place in the Iowa Core Standards.)” It is clear that there are different
standpoints on the Iowa Core. As I did some research and used some common sense, it would
make sense that a high school teacher would be more opposed to it than an elementary
teacher. There are more standards for high school than there are elementary schools. It’s harder
to incorporate so many different lessons in limited hours.
● Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division. (3.OA.A) (Copied
and pasted)
○ Give each student a partner and a worksheet with different multiplication and
division problems. One partner would be assigned the odd numbers and the
other would do the evens. They can ask each other for help and compare
answers at the end.
○ Assign groups and give each group a bag of pipe cleaners. Different colors
represent different amounts. Ex. White = 1 and Green = 5, so if there was 1 white
pipe cleaner and 1 green pipe cleaner in a group, and you were finding the
product, the sum would equal 6. Students will be given problems on the board
where they will have to figure out the right amount of pipe cleaners for each
answer.
● Multiply and divide within 100
○ Make flashcards with multiplication and division problems on each of them. Then
have the students get a whiteboard and an expo marker. The student will work
out the problems on the whiteboard for each flashcard and show me their
answers (in the air) when they are done.
○ Make a scavenger hunt around the room with different answers on them. The
students will have to give examples and different methods using both
multiplication and division to get their answers.
 ● Develop understanding of fractions as numbers
○ Give each student M&MS. They will count how many there are of each color and
determine how many of a certain color there are out of the total.
○ Print out pictures of divided up slices of pizza. The students will then fill in/color
the fraction they are given.
● Represent and interpret data.
○ I will pass out a graph to students with certain data on it and I will ask the
students questions relating to the graph like which drink is the most popular or
what everyone’s favorite season is.
○ Look at a graph of temperature changes throughout the day and asked the
students what caused the change in temperature.
● Reason with shapes and their attributes.
○ I will divide up the class into different groups and give each group a bag of
noodles. Not all of the noodles are the same. The students have to write down
their observations they’ve made about the different attributes of each noodle.
○ I will pass out shape blocks to each student. We will discuss color, shape, size,
durability, the ability to stack, etc.
Mathematics in 2nd grade: At the second grade level, students continue learning adding and
subtracting. They need to know how to add and subtract along with measuring and estimating
lengths in standard units. Just like in 3rd grade, second graders have to reason with shapes and
their attributes.
Mathematics in 4th grade:
10th grade Literacy:
● Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says
explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. (RL.9-10.1) (DOK 1,2,3) (Copied and
Pasted)
○ Have students do a research paper over a curriculum related topic where they
are required to use multiple different sources, then have them cite their sources
at the end of the paper.
○ Give students multiple different sources in class and have them cite them with a
partner. At the end of class we will see how everyone did and make corrections.
● Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over
the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific
details; provide an objective summary of the text (RL.9-10.2) (DOK 2,3) (Copied and
Pasted)
○ Divide the class up into small groups and assign a different reading book to each
group. Over the course of a few weeks, the students will read certain chapters of
the book, then get into their assigned groups (lit. circles) to discuss the events,
main ideas, themes, and any other related topics over the chapters they read. At
the end of each discussion they are required to write a summary over the
chapters and describe, in detail, how the book is developing over time.
○ Students will be given a storyline or an article that they will need to read. The
students will then write down the theme and key details from the passage. When
 they are finished, they will do a class socratic seminar (discussion) over the
different themes or main ideas.
● Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision)
and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes,
and audiences. (W.9-10.10) (DOK 1,2,3,4) (Copied and Pasted)
○ At the beginning of every class, there will be a prompt on the board that the
students will have to write about, without putting their pencils down, for the first
ten minutes of class.
○ Assign a five page paper over curriculum related topics where they are required
to finish it over the course of a few weeks.
● Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using
valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.(W.6.1) (DOK 3,4) (Copied and
Pasted)
○ I will select a topic that is more than a one-sided argument and divide my class in
half. I will give half of the students one side to the argument, then I will assign
another side of the argument to the other half of the class. They will all work
together to come up with points and pieces of evidence to back up their claim
and reason for why they believe they’re right. After about 20 minutes, the class
will have a debate.
○ Each student will have to research a controversial topic, and then write an essay
on which side of the argument they agree/disagree with.
● Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience (W.6.4) (DOK 3,4)(Copied and Pasted)
○ I will teach/read to students multiple different short stories. They have the choice
to pick a short story and make it their own, or create their own short story to
share with the class.
○ They could do a practice college essay letter to practice advanced writing. The
topic can be over anything of interest and will be done in the course of a week.
9th grade Literacy:
11th grade Literacy: